Iranian FM in Beirut discusses ‘positive’ Iran-Saudi talks

Share:

By BASSEM MROUE

Iran’s foreign minister said he discussed with officials in Beirut Thursday the “positive” effects of ongoing talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and blamed foreign troops based in the Middle East for regional instability.  Protesters in Beirut demanded Iran out as he met with several top Lebanese officials

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister said he discussed with officials in Beirut Thursday the “positive” effects of ongoing talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and blamed foreign troops based in the Middle East for regional instability. 

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is on his first visit to Lebanon since taking his post after Iran’s presidential elections this summer. He arrived in Beirut late Wednesday from Moscow. He said nuclear talks to revive Tehran’s now-tattered 2015 accord with world powers, stalled since June, will resume soon.

“We have positively evaluated the continuation of Iranian-Saudi negotiations,” Amir-Abdollahian told reporters after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, referring to multiple rounds of discussions in Baghdad since the first direct talks between regional foes Riyadh and Tehran took place in early April. 

The latest round was held late last month, according to Iraqi officials, marking the first such meeting between the two sides since a new president was sworn in in Tehran. Those at the meeting discussed “pending issues between the two countries according to a previously agreed on a roadmap, including diplomatic representation between the two countries,” according to one Iraqi official.

An improvement of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia is likely to have positive effects in Lebanon, a small nation that has often served as a proxy battlefield for tensions between the two regional powers. 

Iran enjoys wide influence in Lebanon through the powerful Hezbollah group that is funded and armed by Tehran. Lebanon is deeply divided between a coalition backed by the West and Gulf Arab countries, and another group supported by Iran and led by Hezbollah. 

A protester in Beirut is holding the Lebanese flag that reads Iran out on top and 1559 in bottom , 1559 is the 2004 UN resolution that calls for disarming Hezbollah militia and for the end of Syria;’s occupation of Lebanon. Syria has since withdrew its forces but Hezbollah not only kept its arms it used its arms to destabilize the country. Now the majority of the Lebanese consider Iran as the occupier of Lebanon through Hezbollah

In an apparent reference to U.S. forces deployed in the region, Amir-Abdollahian said: “We consider the presence of foreign forces in the region as the main factor for instability and all problems.” 

Earlier in the day, the Iranian official held talks with President Michel Aoun, where he expressed the Islamic Republic’s support for the small nation suffering through a severe economic crisis.

Cartoon of Lebanon flag showing an Iranian cleric replacing the Lebanese emblem ( the famous Cedar tree of Lebanon ) with the Iranian emblem . Many now feel that Hezbollah made Lebanon a colony of Iran

Some Lebanese opposed to Iran’s influence in Lebanon held a protest against the foreign minister’s visit in Beirut on Wednesday, carrying banners that read “Iran out.” 

In Beirut the Lebanese protested against foreign minister’s visit carrying banners that read “Iran out.” Now the majority of the Lebanese consider Iran as the occupier of Lebanon through Hezbollah

Last month, dozens of trucks carrying Iranian diesel began arriving in Lebanon, part of a series of deliveries organized by Hezbollah to help ease crippling shortages in the cash-strapped country. The powerful group operates independently from Lebanese authorities, which are struggling to deal with a crippling energy crisis. Lebanese authorities said they were not involved in the shipment, which violates U.S. sanctions placed on Tehran.

The third Iranian tanker carrying diesel arrived in the Syrian port of Baniyas this week and the fuel will be shipped to Lebanon by tanker trucks

AP

Share:

Comments

5 responses to “Iranian FM in Beirut discusses ‘positive’ Iran-Saudi talks”

  1. We had not had a riddle for a long time.
    What is interesting about the picture in front of you?
    Answers to Twitter or email.
    Among the correct solvers is the actual entry permit from Gaza to Israel? https://t.me/abualiexpress/31392

    1. Solving the riddle:
      In the picture in front of you you can see the meeting of the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bakri with his Pakistani counterpart Sahil Mahmoud, which took place yesterday in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
      As many of you have resolved the Iranian flag that is on the table has been placed upside down. (The first to come up with this was surfer Inon Goldschmidt).
      In recent days, I have written quite a bit here on the channel about geopolitics, about Iran and its neighborhoods that share a common border with it.
      Pakistan is one of Iran’s most important neighbors. Pakistan is also the only Muslim country holding a nuclear bomb and Pakistan has good ties with Saudi Arabia.

      Anyone who followed here during the Shiite victory of the pro-Iranian militias over ISIS in Iraq must remember the hoisting of the inverted ISIS flag by Shiite forces – as a symbol of the absolute victory over ISIS.
      Well when the Pakistani host places the Iranian flag upside down it raises questions … Is it intentional?
      After all, Iran is a champion of humiliating the hosts (after the new Iranian foreign minister on his last visit to Baghdad). Did the Pakistanis let the Iranians taste their porridge?
      In any case, there is no absolute answer. But this definitely provoked an interesting conversation on social media ….

  2. We had not had a riddle for a long time.
    What is interesting about the picture in front of you?
    Answers to Twitter or email.
    Among the correct solvers is the actual entry permit from Gaza to Israel? https://t.me/abualiexpress/31392

  3. Humiliation of the Iranian Foreign Minister in Lebanon
    After meeting Nasrallah in Lebanon last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Amir ‘Abd al-Hayan paid a visit to Assad in Damascus.
    Al-Jadid sources say that in the background, the Beirut-based fuel company refused to refuel the Iranian minister’s plane (due to US sanctions on Iran), so a visit to Syria was in fact a constraint … to refuel the plane and return home to Iran

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *